1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cellular phone and a method of operating the same, and more particularly to a foldable cellular phone and a method of operating the same at the time it receives a call.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cellular phone is always with a user. However, a user cannot respond to a call in some cases. For instance, while a user is driving a car, even if a cellular phone receives a call, he/she cannot respond to the call. For another instance, while a user is driving a car, even if a cellular phone receives an e-mail, he/she knows receipt of an e-mail through phone rings, though he/she cannot see a content of the received e-mail.
Thus, there is a need of a cellular phone which makes it possible for a user to confirm a content of a received e-mail, when he/she cannot do so.
In response to such a need, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-97854 suggests a cellular phone which displays a content of a received e-mail in a display screen immediately when an e-mail is received.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-224861 has suggested a cellular phone including means for detecting whether the cellular phone receives voice communication or an e-mail, means for starting communication when voice communication is received, and means for, when an e-mail is received, storing a received e-mail into a memory, and displaying a content of the received e-mail in a display screen.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-307730 has suggested a cellular phone including means for outputting a content of a received e-mail through synthesized voices, and means for displaying a content of a received e-mail in a display screen.
The above-mentioned cellular phones are designed, on receipt of an e-mail, to display a content of a received e-mail or output a content of a received e-mail through synthesized voices.
Accordingly, if a user selected annunciation through synthesized voices, but forgot selecting annunciation through synthesized voices, annunciation of receipt of an e-mail is made through synthesized voices, even in cases that a user does not want to be annunciated through synthesized voices.
In particular, if a user has a foldable cellular phone, a user cannot see an e-mail displayed on a display screen unless he/she opens a folded cellular phone.
Hence, for instance, when a user is driving a car, he/she cannot immediately confirm a content of a received e-mail.
While a user is driving a car, a foldable cellular phone is usually folded or closed. If a user wants to confirm whether annunciation of a content of a received e-mail through synthesized voices is set, or if a user sets annunciation of a content of a received e-mail through synthesized voices, while he/she is driving a car, he/she has to open a folded cellular phone with both hands. Hence, it is quite difficult or almost impossible to confirm how a cellular phone is being set, or set a cellular phone in his/her desired manner.
As a result, a user has to bear in his/her mind whether he/she selected annunciation through synthesized voices.
As explained so far, the above-mentioned conventional cellular phones are accompanied with a problem that annunciation is not made when necessary, because a user forgot setting annunciation through synthesized voices, and that annunciation is made when unnecessary, because a user forgot turning off annunciation through synthesized voices.
In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-336381 (not yet published) has suggested a cellular phone which annunciates a content of a received e-mail through synthesized voices in accordance with setting made by a user.
In accordance with the suggested cellular phone, after a user confirmed receipt of an e-mail, if a user operates the cellular phone in a predetermined manner, a content of a received e-mail is reproduced through synthesized voices.
However, it is necessary for a user to carry out a predetermined operation to the cellular phone in order to reproduce a content of a received e-mail through synthesized voices. Thus, for instance, when a user is driving a car, he/she cannot carry out the predetermined operation to the cellular phone, and hence, he/she cannot confirm a content of a received e-mail.
It should be noted that the above-mentioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-307730 and Japanese Patent Application No. 11-336381 do not constitute statutory prior art to the present invention. They are explained herein only for the purpose of better understanding of the present invention. The explanation of the Publication and Application does not mean that the applicant admits that they constitute statutory prior art to the present invention.